Aquaculture hearing starts tonight

Aquaculture should remain an integral part of Maine’s coastal communities, according to the governor’s aquaculture task force.

And along with traditional industries such as commercial fishing, tourism and recreation, fish farming can keep Maine’s working waterfronts economically and environmentally sustainable, task force Chairman Paul Anderson said Tuesday, describing his group’s efforts to draft a “bold vision” of the future of aquaculture in Maine.

“We hope the people of Maine can say, ‘Yes, this is a good thing.’ – Maine potatoes, Maine lobster and Maine aquaculture,” Anderson said.

This week, the task force will give the public a final chance to comment on how that vision should be realized.

The task force will hold its sixth and final information-gathering meeting today and Thursday at Washington County Community College in Eastport.

This session will focus on the challenges of choosing sites for aquaculture operations, addressing such issues as water quality, effects on the ocean floor and organisms beneath the pens or rafts, and conflicts with commercial fishermen.

A Wednesday evening hearing will be open to any and all public comments related to aquaculture’s role in Maine’s future. This will be the fourth such public meeting. Already, more than 70 people have shared a wide range of views with the group, Anderson said.

“It prods us, as a stakeholder panel, to broaden our questions,” he said. With its information gathering complete, the task force will work through the remainder of the fall to create a series of recommendations that will likely include everything from proposals for immediate legislation to long-term plans.

“We won’t write this bold vision if we’re not satisfied that we can contribute through our rules,” Anderson said, describing the “balancing act” between regulations to protect the environment and policies to develop the industry.

The task force will start the process of drafting its findings during its December meeting in Belfast in order to meet its goal of presenting recommendations to Baldacci by the first of the year.

This week’s meetings will take place at WCCC’s boat school in Eastport, and begin at 8 a.m. each day. The public is invited to attend all task force meetings, but may speak only during the public hearing, which is scheduled for 7 o’clock tonight.